Simon



March 24, 1964 J. SIMON 3,126,043

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR FORMING BENT EYE TAPE Filed Aug. 9, 1960INVENTOR.

JACK SIMON BY F /flax H [S ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,126,043 METHGD AND MACHTNE FGR FORMING BENT EYETAPE Jack Simon, Rye, N.Y., assignor to L. M. Rahinowitz & (10., Inc,New York, N .Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 9, 1960, Ser. No.48,536 3 Claims. (Cl. 153-1 This is a continuation-in-part of myapplication Serial Number 758,988, filed September 4, 1958, and nowabandoned.

This invention relates to a novel method and machine for bending eyes ina hook-and-eye combination wherein the hooks and eyes are each securedto elongated tapes which are thereafter stitched to the marginal edgesof an opening in a garment.

Garment manufacturers have continued to use old fashioned hook-and-eyedevices in preference to some of the newer multiple fasteners and thehooks and the eyes are individually secured to long lengths of tapewhich are thereafter cut to length and quickly stitched to the marginsof a garment opening. It is manifestly easier to effect engagementbetween the hook and the eye if the loop end of the latter is bentslightly upwardly from the plane of the attaching portions which arestitched to the tape.

In the past, no effective means was ever devised for bending the legs ofthe eyes the or 20 necessary to secure this much easier engagement.Existing highspeed machines, which have been used for years forautomatically stitching the eyes to the tape, require the eyes to befiat when attached, so the bending operation must be performed on thefinished eye tape.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a novelmethod and apparatus for sequentially bending the eyes after they havebeen stitched in spaced relation on the'tape, either in single ormultiple rows, without causing injury to'either the tape or to theindividual fasteners or to the tape.

In conventional eye tapes the tape itself has a longitudinal crease lineto form an underlying or base section, and an overlying section or topfabric of lesser width than the base section. In some instances the topfabric or upper layer is formed from a separate piece of tape. In eitherevent, the multi-layer tape structure is fed to the special sewingmachine and a line of stitching is formed adjacent the edge of the topfabric while the eyes are automatically inserted between the folds witha desired spacing between the eyes. Upon encountering the eye the needlemoves transversely from the stitch line, sews the loops of the eyes tothe fabric, and then returns to the stitch line. In this fashion onlythe U end of the eye element is exposed and the principal object of thepresent invention is to provide a method and apparatus for sequentiallybending the legs of the eyes at the stitch line by supporting only theopposed ends of the eyes and applying a bending stress to the eye alongthe stitch line which is located somewhat closer to the loop ends thanthe U end.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and means ofapplying this bending stress without any metallic portion of the machinetouching the metal of the eye. This arrangement avoids any damage to themetallic eye because it is covered by fabric in all parts contacted bythe machine. More important still, however, is the fact that the bendingis efiected without any crushing of the fabric which is more readilydamaged than the metal.

The foregoing is accomplished by providing a lower roller having arather flat, V-shaped annular recess of only suflicient depth so thatduring the bending operation the eyes and their fabric coverings,extending over 3,126,043 Patented Mar. 24, 1964 their entire lowersurfaces, do not bottom in the recess, but rather straddle the opposedupper edges of the same as the bending stress is applied by an annularrib on an upper roller which contacts the stitch line of the top fabricbut not the eye itself.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a broken perspective view of the essential operating parts ofa machine for practicing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the bending rollers with the work piecetherebetween.

FIG. 4 is a broken plan view of the tape.

A short length of the fabric tape with a single row of eyelets is shownin FIG. 4. The tape has at least two layers including an underlyinglayer or base fabric 10 and an overlying section or top fabric 11. Inmost instances a single tape is used which is folded along alongitudinal fold line 9 to form the top fabric. The special machineused in stitching loop 12 of the eyelets to the tape includes means forsuccessively feeding the eyelets to stitching position between thefabric layers and a vertically reciprocating needle shown at 18 formsstitch line 13 adjacent inner edge 14 of the top fabric, and when theneedle encounters the first leg 15 of the eyelet 16 a suitable camarrangement causes the needle to shift transversely and stitch the loop12 to the tape, as shown at 17. The needle then returns to line 13 andcontinues as before to attach the second loop between the layers.

By this arrangement, the stitching loops 12 of the eyelet are coveredand it leaves the U-shaped hook-attaching end exposed. The eyelets mustbe generally flat when applied by the machine. After the tape has beenformed in this fashion it may be stored for subsequent use, oritbeingsuitably driven by a motor (not shown). The two rollers aredriven at the same speed by gears 23-24 also fast on the shafts.centrally disposed annular rib 25 and the outer periphery of the rolleris relieved on both sides of the rib thus forming diagonal faces 26. Thelower roller is formed with full diameter sections 27 and witha'centrally disposed V-shaped slot defined by faces 28 and 29 of unequalwidth so that the root 30 of the recess is disposed to one side of theslot.

A pair of adjusting screws 31 are used for the purpose of adjusting theposition of upper roller 19 and its rib 25 relative to the recess in thelower roller since various thicknesses of tapes call for an adjustmentof the setting of the rollers. Also, the resultant degree of bend mayvary but it has been found that about a 20 angular relation between thetwo end sections of the legs is best for most purposes. In mostinstances the rib will extend into the recess from .005 to .010 inch.These adjusting screws are mounted in spaced frames 32 and move hearingblocks 34 up and down. The shafts are preferably equipped with ballbearings whose inner races are secured to the shafts to limit axialtravel thereof. The upper roller is provided with a hub 33 with a setscrew to permit the roller to be moved longitudinally of the shaft to anadjusted, fixed position. Some adjustment here is necessary for eyeletshaving different lengths.

The tape is shown in FIG. 3 with the layers in spaced relation ratherthan in face to face contact as they actually are. Thus the bottom layer10 extends across the face of the lower roller with its recess and theupper layer 11 is disposed so that the stitch line 13 is aligned withthe center of rib 25.

The loop ends 12 and eyelet are shown as being dis- The upper roller isformed with a posed between the upper and lower layers of the tape andthe 'U-end 8 extends beyond the inner edge 14 of the top fabric. For thesake of clarity the outer periphery of rib 25 is shown as being spacedunduly from the faces 28-29 of the recess in lower roller 20. In actualpractice, for materials of average thickness, this outer periphery ofthe rib will extend slightly into the recess, as was earlier pointedout, but never so far as to cause the stitch line 13 of the bottomfabric to reach the bottom 30 of the recess. For the purpose of suitablyguiding the tape in order that the stitch line 13 will coincide with rib25, a guide plate 36 is provided with inwardly facing channels 37 ofsuitable width so as to engage the opposite sides of the tape. Means forimparting positive drive to the tape may comprise pressure rollers 40and 41 shown in FIG. 2. Lower pressure roller 41 may be driven by a belt42 from shaft 22 on which lower roller 20 is mounted and upper roller 40is urged downwardly by means of spring 45.

While there have been described herein what are at, present consideredpreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be madetherein without departing from the essence of the invention. It istherefore to be understood that the. exemplary embodiments areillustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which isdefined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intendedto be included therein.

What I claim is:

1. The method of bending the eyelets in a fabric fastener strip formedwith a lower layer and an upper layer of lesser width and in which theeyelets are secured in position between the layers and along a lineparallel to one of the edges of said strip by a longitudinally arrangedline of stitching passing through both layers and across thetransversely arranged legs of the eyelets between the ends of the legs,bending the legs of said eyelets sequentially along a line coincidingwith said line of stitching upwardly at an angle of substantially 20, byrunning the tape between two driven juxtaposed rollers, one having. aflat V-shaped slot and the other having an annular rib. which mayproject a predetermined distance into the slot, the upper and lowerfabric layers forming a cushioning element between the eyelets and themeeting portions of the rollers.

2. The method of bending the eyelets in a fabric fastener strip formedwith a lower layer and an upper layer asp-ea of lesser width and inwhich the fasteners are secured between the layers and along a lineparallel to one of the edges of said strip, and in which said eyeletsare secured in position by a longitudinally arranged line of stitchingpassing through both layers and across the transversely arranged legs ofthe eyelets between the ends of the legs, bending the legs of saideyelets sequentially along a line coinciding with said line of stitchingupwardly at an angle of substantially 20, by running the tape betweentwo driven juxtaposed rollers, one having a flat V-shaped slot overwhich the eyelets straddle and the other having an annular rib which mayproject a predetermined distance into the slot, the depth of the slotbeing great enough to avoid contact between the eyelet and the bottom ofthe slot, the upper and lower fabric layers forming a cushioning elementbetween the eyelets and the meeting portions of the rollers.

3. The method of bending the eyelets in a fabric fastener strip formedwith a lower layer and an upper layer of lesser width and in which theeyelets are secured in position between the layers and along a lineparallel to one of the edges of said strip by a longitudinally arrangedline of. stitching passing through both layers and across thetransversely arranged legs of the eyelets between the ends of the legs,bending the legs of the said eyelets sequentially along a linecoinciding with said line of stitching upwardly at an angle of not lessthan 10 so as to place the said bend portions of the legs insubstantially the same plane, the said bending stroke being applied tothe upper side of the fabric by running the tape between upper and lowerdriven rollers, the latter having a V- shaped annular recess whose widthis substantially the same as the length of the eyelets, and the formerhaving an annular rib engaging the upper layer along said stitch linewhile the layers of the fabric form a protective covering between theeyelets and the rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS570,256 Lavens Oct. 27, 1896 2,146,223 Penkala Feb. 7, 1939 2,164,836Penkala July 4, 1939 2,794,478 Douglas June 4, 1957 2,870,817 BoldriniJan. 27, 1959 2,935,786 Basile et al. May 10, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS618,137 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1949

1. THE METHOD OF BENDING THE EYELETS IN A FABRIC FASTENER STRIP FORMEDWITH A LOWER LAYER AND AN UPPER LAYER OF LESSER WIDTH AND IN WHICH THEEYELETS ARE SECURED IN POSITION BETWEEN THE LAYERS AND ALONG A LINEPARALLEL TO ONE OF THE EDGES OF SAID STRIP BY A LONGITUDINALLY ARRANGEDLINE OF STITCHING PASSING THROUGH BOTH LAYERS AND ACROSS THETRANSVERSELY ARRANGED LEGS OF THE EYELETS BETWEEN THE ENDS OF THE LEGS,BENDING THE LEGS OF SAID EYELETS SEQUENTIALLY ALONG A LINE COINCIDINGWITH SAID LINE OF STITCHING UPWARDLY AT AN ANGLE OF SUBSTANTIALLY 20*,BY RUNNING THE TAPE BETWEEN TWO DRIVEN JUXTAPOSED ROLLERS, ONE HAVING AFLAT V-SHAPED SLOT AND THE OTHER HAVING AN ANNULAR RIB WHICH MAY PROJECTA PREDETERMINED DISTANCE INTO THE SLOT, THE UPPER AND LOWER FABRICLAYERS FORMING A CUSHIONING ELEMENT BETWEEN THE EYELETS AND THE MEETINGPORTIONS OF THE ROLLERS.